The logo of French luxury group Kering is seen at Kering headquarters in Paris, France, February 13, 2023. REUTERS
June 16 (Reuters) – Gucci owner Kering (PRTP.PA), is reported to be close to appointing Renault’s ex-boss Luca de Meo as its new CEO.
According to sources, current Kering chief Francois-Henri Pinault, whose family controls the heavily indebted luxury conglomerate and who has been leading it for 20 years, is mulling splitting the roles of CEO and chairman.
1962 – Francois Pinault founds Etablissements Pinault, a timber trading company based in Rennes that will transform into Kering.
March 1999 – The firm, now called PPR, begins its transformation into a luxury group by acquiring a 42% stake in the fashion group Gucci for about $3 billion.
July 2001 – The group buys the Balenciaga fashion house, which soon becomes a celebrities-favoured strategic brand within the PPR-owned Gucci Group.
March 2005 – Francois-Henri Pinault, the founder’s son, replaces Serge Weinberg as chairman and CEO of the group and begins to sell off non-core activities to fund further acquisition in the fashion sector.
November 2011 – The group announces the acquisition of Italian luxury house Brioni, famous for designing James Bond’s suits, in a bid to strengthen its high-end menswear profile.
December 2012 – The conglomerate makes its first-ever acquisition in China by purchasing a majority stake in fine jewellery company Qeelin.
March 2013 – The firm changes its name to Kering to herald its exit from mass market retail brands.
April 2013 – The firm takes over jewellery brands including Italy’s Pomellato and DoDo.
July 2023 – Kering buys a 30% stake in Italian fashion brand Valentino for 1.7 billion euros ($1.97 billion) in an attempt to revitalise struggling Gucci, which is wrestling with a fading post-pandemic fashion boom.
October 2024 – The firm highlights major headwinds to profits at Gucci, hampered by weak demand in China.
April 2025 – The group finds itself in dire straits as its most recent results show a deepening crisis at its flagship Gucci label.
($1 = 0.8642 euros)
Reporting by Mateusz Rabiega and Anna Peverieri; editing by Matt Scuffham and Jan Harvey
